President Barack Obama's "3 a.m. phone call" on North Korea's missile launch reportedly turned out to be a knock at the door -- at 4:30 a.m.
The president was not awakened by the kind of early-morning phone call that rival-turned Secretary of State Hillary Clinton played up in an infamous campaign ad to try to drum up fear over Obama's qualifications.
Instead, press secretary Robert Gibbs knocked on the door of Obama's suite at the Prague Hilton around 4:30 a.m. and told him the news once the launch had been confirmed, ABC News reported.
The "3 a.m. phone call" was a topic often debated during the presidential election as Obama and Clinton sparred over who was better qualified to be on the other end of the line in the event of international crisis, CNN reported.
The oft-spoofed ad spot featured images of a little girl sleeping as a phone rings in the background.
"It's 3 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep," says a male voice, off camera. "Who do you want answering the phone?"
It’s been more than a year since the spot was launched and now the two former rivals, both in Prague, worked toward the same goal.
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Clinton worked the phones to establish a consensus in the international community to condemn North Korea for launching a rocket. She spoke with foreign ministers of China, Japan and Russia by phone, the Associated Press reported.
Obama separately condemned North Korea's actions.
"North Korea made a launch this morning that defies U.S. Security Council resolutions, that harms peace and stability for Northeast Asia," he said. "This action demands a response from the international community, including from the United Nations Security Council to demonstrate that its resolution cannot be defied with impunity."
